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Dayton Daily News (Ohio)

Staff Report

The family of a toddler who drowned at the Kroger Aquatic Center at the Heights is suing the center, the Huber Heights YMCA and YMCA of Greater Dayton, the city of Huber Heights and Kroger.

On July 4, 2012, Tyree Dukes, 3, was found floating in the pool at 8625 Brandt Pike. CPR was administered and the boy was rushed to Dayton Children's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The coroner's office ruled the death an accidental drowning.

The defendants in the lawsuit hired an independent consultant to investigate the incident, including the defendant's policies and procedures. Based on the investigation, the Kroger Aquatic Center adopted new rules.

Among the new procedures, the center required visitors to wear color colored wristbands so lifeguards could identify the area where children are permitted; moved lifeguard chairs closer to the pool to provide better line of sight for better scanning and recognition of swimmers; and cracked down on enforcement of its missing child policy to reunite the child with their parent and/or ask them to leave for the day.

The city contracts with the YMCA to run the center.

The drowning was believed to be the first at a Dayton-area YMCA in at least 50 years, according to YMCA President and CEO Tim Helm.

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